Forget March Madness. Get ready for May Mayhem. It’s crunch time,
By Jason Kaneshiro
as tournaments abound
in the coming weeks
Star-BulletinAs the high school regular seasons wind down this week, some teams will see their seasons end, while others prepare for league and state tournaments.
The state tournament slate opens Saturday with the Hawaii High School Athletic Association boys and girls golf championships on Maui. Waiakea is the defending champion in both tournaments.
The state's top 120 boys tee-off at the Kapalua Village Golf Course, while the top 65 girls will play at the Kaanapali South Course. Both tournaments will be 36-hole events with a shotgun start at 6 a.m.
The Oahu Interscholastic Association baseball tournament starts with quarterfinals Friday and semifinals Saturday at school sites. The championship game is set for Monday at Hans L'Orange Park.
The OIA girls basketball season ends Friday, with the quarterfinals set for Saturday. The semifinals will be held May 15 and the finals May 16.
The state baseball tournament opens May 18 with quarterfinal doubleheaders at Hans L'Orange Park and Aloha Stadium. The game times are set for 6 and 8:30 p.m. The semifinals will be held May 19 at 1 and 3:30 p.m. at Aloha Stadium. First pitch for the championship game is set for 7 that night.
The girls basketball tournament will also open with doubleheaders May 18 at McKinley gym and Kamehameha's Kekuhaupio Gym, starting at 7 and 8:30 p.m. The semifinals and finals will be held May 19 and 21, respectively, at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Preps on TV
Oceanic Cable will televise the OIA baseball and girls basketball third-place and championship games on Channel 16 on May 14 and 16.The baseball doubleheader starts at 4:30 p.m. at Hans L'Orange Field on May 14 and will be shown on a same-day tape delay starting at 6:30 p.m. The girls basketball finals, set for May 16 at the Stan Sheriff Center, will be shown live starting at 6 p.m.
The HHSAA baseball, girls basketball and track and field finals will be broadcast on KFVE. The baseball final will be shown on a delayed basis at 9 p.m. May 19, and will be rebroadcast at 3 p.m. May 20. The girls basketball championship game will be shown live from the Stan Sheriff Center at 7 p.m. May 21. And an hour-long track-and-field special will air at 7 p.m. June 3.
Correction
The ILH girls diving all-stars are: first team -- Leina'ala Chong, Kamehameha; second team -- Lehua DeSilva, Kamehameha. Their names were reversed in the league's listings.
Puerto Rican recruit
By Grace Wen
likely to commit to UH
Star-BulletinJose Jose Delgado, a highly sought-after outside hitter, gave the University of Hawaii a verbal commitment yesterday morning.
But, later in the afternoon, Delgado wavered, saying he wasn't completely sure of his decision. He said he wanted to discuss the decision further with his mother and was to speak with UH coaches today.
"I think probably 90 percent (chance) I go to Hawaii," Delgado said during a phone interview. "I'm sure, but I'm a little confused."
Delgado, also recruited by Ohio State, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State, said he was deciding between Ohio State and Hawaii.
The 6-foot-4 Delgado has been playing volleyball for seven years and competed for Puerto Rico's Junior National team. His extensive playing experience would boost and balance a UH lineup that includes AVCA Player of the Year Costas Theocharidis and outside hitters Eyal Zimet and Tony Ching.
It is likely that Delgado will commit to Hawaii for several reasons.
"I like the weather, it's the same like Puerto Rico," Delgado said. "The team ... I like (assistant coach) Tino (Reyes) so much. The coach is very fun. The guys are very good and the facility of the college is very good."
2 to junior national team
It's been a busy couple of weeks for Hawaii volleyball players Kimo Tuyay and Tony Ching.And it's going to get even busier.
Two weeks ago, the two traveled to the MPSF conference playoffs at Brigham Young for their final road trip of the season.
Then they returned home for the last week of classes and final exams. Now the two will board a plane to Miami tomorrow night for two days of practice with the U.S. junior national team. And then they fly out to Brazil for the junior world championship qualifier tournament.
International powerhouses Cuba and Brazil are expected to be at the seven-team tournament. The top two teams from that tournament will qualify for the Junior World Championships, which will be held Aug. 11-19 in Poland.
Reyes believes it's the first time the Warriors have had a player on the roster.
Tuyay and Ching will join a 12-member squad consisting mainly of college freshmen and sophomores. The team was selected based primarily on performance during the collegiate season.
Tuyay, the Warriors' setter, was the MPSF co-Freshman of the Year, along with Long Beach State's Scott Touzinsky, also a member of the squad.
Ching was Hawaii's utility player, subbing in at crucial times for Torry Tukuafu or Zimet.
Though Tuyay confesses that he's already tired of traveling, he's excited at the prospect of competing for the junior national team.
"I can't wait," Tuyay said. "I love playing with the guys. They're so much fun to play with. It's (also) another opportunity to improve and play a different competition than college. You get to play the foreigners. The level should be like Division I volleyball and maybe even better."
Invitational field almost set
Hawaii has filled two of three spots for the 2002 Outrigger Invitational in January. Committing to the tournament are Penn State and UCLA.Ohio State is a candidate to round out the field for Hawaii's season-opening tournament.
"The idea is that we want to try to invite the various representatives from the previous year's final four," Hawaii head coach Mike Wilton said. "UCLA is a given, as long as they want to play."
Wilton said he's going to extend an invitation to Ohio State, but the Buckeyes turned Hawaii down last year, saying they were concerned that their players would miss too many days of school.
Benny Agbayani, Mets: The St. Louis School alumnus was 0-for-2 with a walk in New York's 12-4 loss to Colorado. The left fielder is now hitting .306. Hawaii’s own
Mike Fetters, Dodgers: The Iolani School graduate did not pitch in Los Angeles' 7-6 loss to Florida.
Chris Truby, Astros: The Damien Memorial High School product did not play in Houston's 3-2 loss to Philadelphia.